Physicists & Habits: Stress-Induced Smoking, Drinking, & Coffee?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the habits of physicists, particularly focusing on stress-induced smoking, drinking, and coffee consumption. Participants explore the cultural and personal factors influencing these habits within the context of academic and professional pressures in the field of physics.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that many physicists develop addictions to cigarettes, alcohol, and coffee due to stress associated with their studies.
  • One participant argues that coffee should not be classified as an addiction in the same way as cigarettes and alcohol, noting their ability to abstain from it for periods despite experiencing withdrawal headaches.
  • Another viewpoint is presented that scientists, in general, may be less likely to smoke or have alcohol addictions compared to less educated individuals, although coffee consumption is common due to long working hours.
  • Participants discuss the cultural aspects of smoking, highlighting that in Canada, smokers are often from specific cultural backgrounds, and in the Netherlands, smoking is more socially accepted.
  • Observations are made about the coffee culture at CERN, where there are dedicated lines for coffee, indicating its prevalence among scientists.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the prevalence and nature of smoking and drinking habits among physicists, with no consensus reached on whether these habits are more common in this field compared to others.

Contextual Notes

Some claims depend on personal experiences and cultural observations, which may not be universally applicable. The discussion includes anecdotal evidence and subjective interpretations of addiction and habit formation.

scott_alexsk
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...many physicists get addicted to cigarettes, alcohol, and or coffee from getting their degree (from dealing with the stress I guess )? It seems like many have these kinds of habits...like my own teacher who will take breaks in-between classes and bring back a particular aroma into the room, sometimes causing significant discomfort on the classes' part.

-scott
 
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I don't think coffee counts as an "addiction" in the same way that cigarettes and alcohol can be. I personally do drink coffee, and am aware that if I don't have coffee tomorrow morning, I'll get a bad headache. Yet I will often not have coffee for a few days or a week or so, and put up with one bad day.

And there is nothing special about Physics that makes people go to cigarettes either. I've met a much larger percentage of poets and artists who smoke much more than the scientists I've met. (Having degrees in both Physics and Creative Writing I have met a lot of both).
 
My experience is that scientists are less likely to smoke or have alcohol addictions (though may drink socially) than less educated people. Now, coffee on the other hand, is a common addiction. It comes with the long hours of work.
 
Smoking is also cultural - in Canada most of the smokers were from Asia or the middle east. In the Netherlands it is much more permissable to smoke - and up until a few years ago smoking was actually permitted in the cafeteria of the building where I currently work!

As for the other vices... At the CERN cafeteria there is a special line-up JUST for the coffee machine so you don't have to wait in the cash register queue with all the people buying food.

Chi Meson said:
(Having degrees in both Physics and Creative Writing I have met a lot of both).

That's really cool! What lead you to your second degree?
 
oedipa maas said:
Smoking is also cultural - in Canada most of the smokers were from Asia or the middle east. In the Netherlands it is much more permissable to smoke - and up until a few years ago smoking was actually permitted in the cafeteria of the building where I currently work!

As for the other vices... At the CERN cafeteria there is a special line-up JUST for the coffee machine so you don't have to wait in the cash register queue with all the people buying food.



That's really cool! What lead you to your second degree?

Looooooooooong story. Short version: I got reading glasses halfway through college and discovered that I did enjoy reading when I didn't get a headache. I thought for a while that I could make it as a writer of science fiction / science non-fiction. Fizzled. I still feel like I have that one great book in me, somewhere. If only I could find ... the ... plot...
 

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